Guardians of Filgaia
by Stefan D. Cerullo
Summary: A prose version of the events in the original Wild ARMS game. I have used some artistic license in changing some of the characters or elements of the plot. Enjoy!
1. Prologue Part One

**Prologue – Myths, Attacks and Oaths**

The Fenril Knights were overwhelmed in catastrophe by the time they met up with the Sword Princess.

An attack in the middle of winter! Who could have seen it coming? Those black demon-like creatures – what could have summoned them?

Garrett surveyed the small group of Fenril Knights. Of the original ten from their group, four remained –that included himself. Coldbird, the captain of their ship…Ryan, one of Garrett's best friends… and the late King of Arctica's brother, who was now the new king, but not crowned yet.

Garrett was the newest of the Fenril Knights. He had been reluctant to join, but Ryan had seen his talent in swordplay and basically forced him to join.

Now Garrett was wishing he had never owned a sword. Sweat pouring down his back, heart pounding rapidly, he was accompanying his fellow Knights in fleeing to the confines of the castle. He would have nightmares from the things he had seen. They could not have been of this Earth. But he would have to be brave, like a Fenril Knight should.

Coldbird spoke in a hurried breath. "Your majesty, I think I know what might be going on!"

"What?" demanded the King.

"Possibly the demons are behind the attack."

"Preposterous! The demons are a myth! You don't have proof."

"What else could have sent those things, majesty?"

Ryan interjected. "Could it have to do with that mysterious cocoon in the lower chambers?"

"What…that old thing of my brother's?" questioned the king. "They can have it, for all I care."

"No, your majesty!" shouted Coldbird. "You don't know what that thing really is, do you?"

"It's worthless. You would do best to not cross me."

"But-"

"I am the king, I say what will happen! My brother is dead, I am the king, with or without a crown!"

Garrett muttered quietly to Ryan. "Is it true that the 'cocoon' could have the corpse of the Ancient Demon Queen?"

"Anything's possible, Garrett. Just don't let the king hear anything about that."

The Fenril Knights had now arrived at the lower chambers. Torches illuminated the eerie, dark, large room. The Sword Princess was standing there, holding her gleaming blade; her flaming red hair reflected a glowing face that showed no fear.

"Your majesty, you're all right!"

"There was an attack upon disembarkment from our ship, Elmina," said Coldbird in a quiet voice.

"And yes, his majesty is fine. We were forced to flee to the castle as there were dozens of dark creatures."

"Demonic, they were," said Garrett suddenly. Everyone looked at him. Elmina gave him a quick glance that contained a smile. Garrett nodded back.

"They-were-not-demons!" shouted the king. "The demons are a myth!"

Ryan spoke. "Your majesty, under present circumstances, I think we must believe anything is possible. The air has an evil breath in it. I can feel it."

"Blasphemy, Ryan!" shouted the king. "Not one more word of it shall be uttered here!"

Ryan sighed, obliged, and went off to stand watch.

Coldbird redirected the conversation. "Elmina, do you have any plans in mind?"

"For our safety, I believe we should evacuate Arctica Castle temporarily. For the protection of his majesty, especially."

"Preposterous!" shouted the king for the second time that night. "The castle walls are firm enough to protect us from any mysterious creatures! All we need to do is shut and bolt the gate."

Garrett turned away from the group and walked towards Ryan, who was looking down the hall from which they had just came. "See anything, Ryan?"

"Nothing so far. But it just seems as if the hall is getting darker and darker by the minute."

"Isn't that what happens when night approaches?"

"The sun has already gone down. No – it's something else." He started to walk away from Garrett, and walked further down the hall, further from the group.

"Ryan…"

"Quiet, Garrett. I see something. A shadow, darker than the darkness is capable of."

"What!"

"Quiet. Go and inform the group immediately. I'll stay here."

Garrett did not hesitate. He hurried toward the Fenril Knights as fast as he could.  
"Coldbird!" he shouted.

Coldbird stopped talking and looked at him. "Yes, Garrett?"

"Something's t-there, down the hall! Ryan saw it. He said it was a dark shadow!"

The king looked directly at Garrett. "You're imagining it. There's nothing there. This castle is impenetrable."

Garrett refused to be swayed. "That, your majesty, is preposterous!"

"Pardon me?"

"You're too confident, king. This castle couldn't keep out demons."

"More of the lies! Demons are a myth. A myth!"

"You wanna check with Ryan, then? He saw something – I'm not lying!"

There was a sound – a swish – then a thud, followed by a guttural sound. The knights and Elmina turned. Ryan was standing completely still; a massive spear had penetrated his chest and was coming out of his back.

"Ryan! NO!" shouted Garrett. He was at his friend's side in a few strides.

"I'm…sorry…. Garrett…." gasped Ryan. A trickle of blood was running from his mouth. Garrett reached for the pointed end of the spear. "No, Garrett!" he shouted. "Leave…the spear… Run…for your lives…demons….here…" His eyes closed and he slumped sideways onto the cold, stone tile.

"WHY!" shouted Garrett. "What do they want from us?"

Coldbird turned to the king. "There's your evidence, your majesty. It seems as though the castle walls couldn't hold out everything."

The king, for once, was lost for words.

Coldbird spoke again. "We must leave Arctica – now. We must tell the world what has happened here."

"My, my, it looks as though Zeikfried had good aim," said a voice behind them. Everyone turned, once again.

There was a glow of blinding light, and then there was a creature. It was robed in white, with majestic colours all over. It had the shape of a horse, as it appeared to be on all fours. It was huge. There a half dozen or so eyes all resting on long antennae, surveying the room. The eyes were dark and cold. A few of them were fixed on Ryan's body and the spear, but most were fixed on the Fenril Knights.

The Fenril Knights, for their part, were silenced.

Coldbird was the first able to speak. "What…the hell…are you?"

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? I am one of those… 'myths'… your king so delicately called us.

I am Alhazad the Majestic - one of the Lords of the Demon Race.

"You're a d-demon?" stammered the king. "B-but that's not possible…"

"Well, I'm right here, so there can be no more denials and ignorance. Anyway, let me get to the point. My superior, Zeikfried, has told me that there is a 'cocoon' – as you humans call it – here, in this castle. We desire to possess it, for reasons which are our business."

Garrett's mind raced wildly. He remembered Ryan mentioning a rumour that something related to the Demon Leader was in that cocoon.

Alhazad continued. "One of your men here recently discovered our presence." A few of his eyes rested on Ryan. Garrett felt a hot surge of anger and sadness. "So Lord Zeikfried decided to send a message by killing one of your knights with his Dark Spear. Apparently, the ambush on the shore did not work. But I hope this one will. Here is our ultimatum: give us this cocoon, immediately, our you will all be slaughtered like this one here."

The king gave in to the demon's demands. Like a dog, he fell to all fours and began to whimper. "You can h-have it!" he whimpered cowardly. "I just want to live…" He crawled toward Alhazad and made a motion as if he were going to kiss the demon lord's feet.

"Your majesty, NO!" shouted Coldbird. "You don't know the truth of that cocoon! You don't know what lies within it!"

"Quiet, human," said Alhazad coldly. "Do not interfere with this. Your king is showing an excellent example of how humans will soon all bow before us, the Superior Race."

Coldbird ignored him. "I won't let you do it, your majesty!" He lunged toward the two of them, sword in hand.

Alhazad turned to Coldbird, as if he were going to attack him. In a flash, the king had stood up and ran in front of Coldbird. "He's going to kill us all anyway!" he hissed savagely.

A red beam projected from inside Alhazad's white cloak. It was meant to hit Coldbird, but the king had stood in front in the nick of time. The beam hit him instead. The king froze for a second; a look of horror came from his face, and then he fell forward onto the floor.

Alhazad paused for a second, and then began to laugh. "Whoops. My bad. One more down, three to go. You ready to die as well?"

A second beam came from Alhazad, but Coldbird deflected it with his sword, and it flew off into the chamber.

"You demon bastard," growled Coldbird. 'You're gonna pay for this treachery!" He glanced at Garrett and Elmina, the only other Knights left. "You two! Run from Arctica! Spread the word that the Demon Race exists! I'll take care of this one!"

Garrett looked back at Coldbird once more, and then grabbed Elmina's hand; the two of them ran from the chamber as fast as they could.

It was just Coldbird and Alhazad left. "Just you and me, demon," Coldbird said quietly. "You'll never catch those two –they're too good for you. As for that cocoon – I know what's in it. And you know what – you're gonna have to work for it!

Garrett and Elmina ran until they were both out of breath. They were in the long hallway before the back gate of the castle. They were almost there. Garrett sat down and leaned against the wall. Elmina joined him.

"I never should have joined the Fenril Knights," said Garrett solemnly. "If I knew this is what've had to go through…"

"Life is hard sometimes, I know," responded Elmina. "But it's how you deal with it that reflects what kind of person you are."

"Yeah, I know. I can't believe the demons are real. Even I thought they were a myth."

"And yet, here they are. What will we do, now?"

"I'll fight it!" stated Garrett. "I'm a Fenril Knight! I shouldn't run – I should stand my ground!"

"That's just plain stupid, Garrett, and you know that."

"What?"

"Think of the others – Coldbird, Ryan. They sacrificed themselves for our greater good. To throw your life away would be poor repayment to them."

"I can't just run from my problems."

"You are an inexperienced Fenril Knight, Garrett. If Coldbird or Ryan couldn't kill that demon, then I'm betting you can't."

"Thanks for your confidence."

"Hey, it's the facts."

They were silent for a moment. Then Elmina spoke.

"Garrett – let's leave our problems for now. We'll abandon this frozen wasteland, tell everyone about the demons, and someday – maybe someday, we'll fight them again. Until that time," Elmina squeezed Garrett's hand firmly; "We'll find some quiet village to live in. It'll be just like the old days, before you became a Fenril Knight or before I became the Sword Princess."

"Maybe we could do that," said Garrett. "Fine…we can do that, I guess. But I can't forget this. Revenge is gripping my heart. I will not be completely free until I have completely avenged my fellow Fenril Knights – may their souls rest in peace."

"All right. Let's leave, then. We're almost out of this dreaded castle."

The two of them got up, and began to run to the back gate.

A voice rang through the hall. "You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?"

A flash of white light, and Alhazad materialized before them. "You are the last ones left. You two will die now, and Arctica Castle will belong to the Demons."

'You're wrong, demon!" said Elmina, unsheathing her sword. "Garrett will escape, he will tell the world about you and your race's existence, and they will fight you!"

"No, Elmina!" yelled Garrett. "I'm not leaving without you!"

"I'm sorry, Garrett, but the world needs to know about this treachery! Someday – someday, we'll see each other again! Go!"

"I swear to it, Elmina! Upon my sword, I will not truly rest until we are together again! Someday!"

He met eyes with Elmina one more time, then turned and ran for his life through the gate.

As soon as he had gone through, Elmina severed the rope holding the gate up with her sword. The gate crashed to the ground with a resounding noise.

Alhazad laughed at Elmina. "You amuse me, Princess. Put down your sword. I'm not going to kill you. I have a better plan. You realize, you are very beautiful…

Garrett sighed, and looked across the snow-covered valley to the mountains in the distance.

Hard times were definitely ahead – and he would have to deal with them.


	2. Prologue Part Two

**Prologue, Part 2 – Zepet's Memorial**

There would be no turning back now.

The blue-haired youth was on his own, living in a world swallowed up in fear. The world was dying, fading, vanishing. Everyone was holding on to every possession they owned, in fear that they would lose it all. No one travelled around anymore.

However, there were few of nomadic type who could not stay in one place for long. They were known as 'Dream Chasers'; going from town to town, they would eat, stay the night, talk among the natives, and be on their way to new adventures.

Rudy, the blue-haired youth, was afraid that he would become one of them. He was alone in the world now. There would be no turning back. His only friend, grandfather; his only connection in the world had been taken from this world, passed on to a new life, a new future. But Rudy had been left behind.

"Rudy, someday I will be gone," Zepet used to say to him. "When the heavens desire my company, I will have to give in and ascend to a new life in death."

"Grandpa, I can't stay in this world if you're not with me!" Rudy would respond.

"Don't say that, Rudy! Your time has not come yet! You must learn to live on your own. The life of a Dream Chaser can be hard sometimes, but life is full of hardships."  
"But…"

"When I die, you must not come along with me…yet. You have your whole life ahead of you! Me, I'm just old – an old, tired man who has lived a long enough life. When the time comes – Rudy – when it comes, you will be alone – I know. I'm sorry. But, you can find friends in this world that live like you. They're out there – you just have to find them."

Rudy, in those times, did not want to believe him. But now, as he stood against the rocky cliff, and the cold wind blew into his face, he could not escape the fact that he was really alone in the world now. Rudy had buried Zepet within the rocks of the cliff edge that he had loved. The view was great – from there, the two of them had been able to see the entire valley that they lived in. But now, Rudy was the only one who could see it now. At the edge of the cliff there was a small, wooden cross. From it hung the necklace that Zepet had passed on to Rudy some long time ago. But he couldn't take it with him – these memories would be too painful.

The moon shone strong upon the cross. It was beautiful, the way that the moonlight reflected in the shiny metal of the necklace. At this time, when the moon was right in the sky, Rudy left the land in search of someone like him, alone in the world.

Rudy could not remember how many days he had been travelling now. He did not even really know where he was anymore. All he thought was that he was travelling further north, for the air had been getting colder and colder. Nothing to see though. No town, no village, nothing.

One night, Rudy was resting when he noticed lights dancing through the sky. That was unnatural. Nothing like that had been seen before. Curious, Rudy watched the lights travelling up a cliff in the distance. He rubbed his eyes, got up and began to follow them. Yep, they all went up this cliff. He approached the cliff, found some grips in the rock and began to climb. As he ascended he was able to get a closer look at them. They were pure white and perfectly spherical. Very curious. He had never seen anything like them in his life.

Higher and higher he climbed.

Almost there, he thought. In a sudden instant, he felt his foot slip and his body shifted as it threatened to sink back down the steep rock wall. Rudy began to panic. Fear. Don't look down, looking down increases fear. Fear brings about disaster. Disaster, catastrophe. Rudy looked down. In that instant, he felt sick. I can't join Zepet yet!…he thought. Zepet had told Rudy that he would be the only one going on the journey. _So don't follow_… he had said!

Rudy's hands slipped around on the rocky wall as he rapidly tried to get a firm grip, anything.

Then, in a moment, he felt warmth. He felt something grabbing his arm. He looked up. It was the palest hand he had ever seen. A hand cannot be that white, he thought.

A tug, a firm pull, and Rudy felt himself rising. Panting heavily, he felt himself ascend over the edge of the cliff wall. As soon as he found himself lateral on firm ground again, he closed his eyes and thanked the heavens. He was sweating profusely, his arms and legs were scratched and bleeding, but he was alive. He opened his eyes and looked around to see his human savior. There was no one to be seen. Rudy was mystified. He noticed the white spheres once again. His eyes followed them across the skyline to the horizon. And then his heart leapt.

Further down in the valley, the welcoming lights of a village caught Rudy's attention.

_There you go, grandpa, _he thought; _maybe I won't have to be alone anymore._

His heart was lifted high, and Rudy felt something that he hadn't felt in a long time. Hope.


	3. Trouble Comes To Surf

CHAPTER ONE 

**Trouble Comes to Surf**

"Hey, kid, come here."

Rudy looked over to the right, and one of the villagers was standing there. Rudy obliged and approached him.

"Kid, you're a great help, you know that?"

"Thanks," said Rudy quietly. The villagers of Surf Village had been hospitable enough; one of them decided to let him stay at his house – basically, Rudy had agreed to work on his farm and he would be able to eat and sleep for free – today, he had been feeding the horses and chickens and cleaning out the stables.

"How old are 'ya, kid?"

"Fifteen."

"And what's your name, again?"

"Rudy."

"Well then, thanks again for your help, Rudy."

"No problem."

"Where 'ya from, by the way?"

"Here and there."

"Dream Chaser, eh?"

"You could say that."

The man paused, and then smiled, showing off yellowed teeth.

"Well, Rudy, have the rest of the day off."

"Thanks."

"See you tomorrow. Keep up the good work."

Rudy set off, and decided to walk around the village a bit and get to know it. Surf Village was an old town by the looks of it; it was run-down, and it didn't look like there was a huge population.

Rudy saw a kid sitting on a large barrel, leaning up against a fence. He had seen the kid before, when he had first stepped into the village. He was only about eight or nine by the looks of it. The one thing was, the kid looked so depressed all of the time.

"Hey kid, what's the matter?" Rudy asked.

"Oh, nothin," the kid answered quickly.

Rudy tried again. "I'm Rudy. What's your name?"

The kid hesitated. "…Tony."

"Hey Tony, I just wonder why you look so sad all the time."

Tony hesitated once again, just this time for longer. "…It's my daddy," he said quietly. "He's been sick for so long now."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I wish there was something I could do. I would do…like anything to help daddy be well again. I would go to the ends of the earth to find a cure."

"Have you asked any of the other villagers?"

"They all say just wait, and time will make him better. But it hasn't!" Tears started to form in Tony's eyes.

"I wish there was something I could do…"

"Everyone wishes, but nobody does anything!" Tony shouted suddenly. "I'm the only one who actually cares about daddy enough to try and do something!"

"But…"

"They won't even let me out of the village to look for anything! They're so…mean! They don't care!"

"It's a dangerous world, Tony. I've been out there."

"But you don't know what it's like to see someone you love dying!"

Rudy paused for a moment. "Actually, Tony, I have." Zepet…Rudy missed him even more now.

"Someone very dear to me passed away a while ago."

It was Tony's turn to pause. 'R-really?"

"Really."

"Oh…I'm…I'm sorry…Rudy."

"It's…okay."

"Could you help me cure daddy?"

"I dunno… I don't know if there's anything I could personally do…"

"Please?"

"…I'll do my best."

Tony looked earnestly at Rudy. "Thank you."

"No problem. See you around." Rudy walked on.

"Hey…it's Rudy, right?" Rudy turned to the left, to the source of the voice. There was another boy leaning against a fencepost, but he looked older than Tony. At first glance he appeared to be Rudy's age. He was thin and tall, but yet still looked fit. Maybe Rudy had seen him in the fields, doing work as well.

"Yes…" responded Rudy.

The youth extended his hand. "Good to meet you, Rudy. I'm Tom Pifer. The mayor's son."

Rudy shook his hand.

"How 'ya liking Surf Village?"

"It's fine. It's just-"

"-Just that this village looks so run-down. I know, man; tell me about it." Tom laughed. "The village ain't what it used to be, you could say. Long ago – I was quite young then – the village was off well. And then…it just sorta stopped. People moved south, in search of more prosperous land. You see, the land here is shit. You can't grow anything good anymore. Bad luck, I guess. You're lucky to be a Dream Chaser, man. If a place isn't up to scratch, you can stay the night, and then get the hell outta here."

"It must be dull to be tied down to one place."

"Tell me about it! Well, ya get used to it, eventually. Oh, hey Rudy, here comes my dad."

Rudy looked behind him. A man was approaching; he was tall, and well built like his son. He was wearing an old black cloak.

"Tom! I see you've met our newcomer."

"Yeah."

The man shook Rudy's hand. "I'm John Pifer – the mayor of Surf."

"Nice to meet you."

"I hear you have been a great help so far as a farmhand. Keep up the good work."

"Thank you."

"Where you from, Rudy?"

"Here and there. I don't remember my home town."

"Really, huh?" The mayor surveyed Rudy quickly. "What about parents?"

"No parents."

"Sorry to hear that. Anyway, enjoy your time in Surf."

John walked off into the distance and disappeared behind a building.

Tom looked at Rudy. "Interesting fellow, my father."

"Indeed."

They were both quiet for a minute.

"Hey Rudy, come for a walk."

Rudy obliged. They walked down the dusty path, past the run-down wooden fences, and were silent for a short while. Tom spoke after a while.

"Rudy, you ever heard of the Holy Berries?"

"Huh?"

"Holy Berries." Rudy noticed that Tom was speaking in a lower voice. "Alright, I'll tell ya. They were one of the things that kept us in business in the old days. Just to the southwest of this village, there's a cave. It's off-limits now, but my father and other men of the village used to mine these berries from the depths of the cave. These berries were special – better than ordinary herbs - "; Tom lowered his voice even more; "…because they had extraordinary healing powers."

"So what happened?"

"Well, ya know, too much of a good thing can kill someone, right? A truth people have known. Well, first off, the berries were becoming used too much and were bound to run out someday. So, my father had to place bylaws limiting the number of berries that could be mined, ya know, to 'save for the future years' or something like that."

Silence for a moment.

"Anyway, that didn't sit too well with everyone. Some people began to rebel and continue to mine all the berries they wanted. My father was forced to take action, and one day, he had to put one of them to death."

"To death?" Rudy was shocked.

"Yes. It hurt my father tremendously to do it, but he needed to set an example. He hung one of the men. You know what this led to, right? People began to leave in multitudes, and the population of Surf was devastated."

"Anything else happen?"

"Oh yes, indeed. Surf was cleared of the rebels…save one. This one man travelled off to the cave during the night and attempted to haul away the remaining berries that we had found. My father discovered the other man's absence and led a group of men off to the cave. They arrived there to find the guard strangled to death. They hurried their pursuit into the depths of the cave. In and in they went. It got darker and darker, they would say later."

"Did they catch him?"

"They found him at the end of the cave, at the furthest part they had dug. He was standing there, grinning maliciously. My dad confronted him and realized that there were masses of explosives there, in the chamber. The man told my father that he would blow the chamber to rubble should my father persist. One of the men in the group opened fire on the rebel, against my father's wishes. In this moment, it was believed that the heat and cinder of the gunpowder must have set a spark in the chamber and ignited the wick. When my father realized this they evacuated immediately. They escaped from the chamber just in time. After the explosion had subsided they tied up the rebel, and my father questioned him viciously. The rebel was stubborn, although he did admit that he did not intend to demolish the chamber. He was wounded badly, and my father was doubtful that the rebel would live to see another day. Some men in the group wished to kill the rebel on the spot, but my father refused – he could not stand another execution."

"What happened to the berries?"

"Unfortunately, the berries were demolished along with the chamber, as my father discovered when they surveyed the area afterwards. However, they realized that a smaller chamber was opened in the aftermath of this. In the chamber they found one remaining berry that had survived the explosion. Drastically, they found something else as well."

"What?"

"The men heard a scream and turned back. They had left the rebel tied up in the ruins of the larger chamber, and he was pointing and yelling into the darkness from which we had come. There was something…inhuman…there, my father would tell me later…a monster. The creature killed the rebel in one swipe of its massive arms. Then it came for the rest of the men. They miraculously managed to corner the creature in the smaller chamber. My father, who had taken the Holy Berry from its resting place, decided brilliantly to toss the one remaining berry at the creature. Upon impact, it dissolved into sludge and then disappeared into the depths of the ground."

"Another power of this Holy Berry, huh?"

"Apparently. My father had the men seal off the chamber and the cave was forbidden to enter afterwards. And now…well, you've seen already what it has done to the town."

Tom relaxed and leaned against the fence, once again. "That's the great story of Surf. Rudy, just don't let everyone know what I told you, though. Some people should not know."

"Right."

They walked for a bit more of a distance. They were silent. The town was quiet. Then Rudy spoke.

"Tom, I just remembered: there's a kid who might find that information handy."  
"Tony? Yeah, definitely don't let him know."

"Right."

There was a noise behind them. Both youth turned.

"Who's there?" demanded Tom. "Rudy, check behind the barrels. There's someone there – I know it."

Rudy approached the barrels. No one was there.

"Got 'em!" said Tom. He was holding none other than Tony by the neck of his shirt.

"Let go, Tom!" shouted Tony.

"What were you doing behind the barrels, Tony? Eavesdropping?"

"…No."

"Don't lie, you stupid little kid! What did you hear?"

"Tom, he's just a kid," said Rudy.

"He heard us talking earlier, I just know it!"

Tony struggled. Tom, being drawn to Rudy's voice for the one second, lost his grip on the boy, and right away Tony ran away from the two of them.

"No, Tony!" shouted Tom. "It's dangerous out there!"

"I don't care!" yelled his voice in the distance. "I'm going to the cave, and you can't stop me!"

"Dammit!" Tom was furious. "He's gonna get in so much trouble!"

Rudy sighed.


End file.
